Red-Shouldered Hawk Study
in Southern Ohio

Red-shouldered
Hawks (Buteo lineatus) live and nest in the suburban areas surrounding
the city of Cincinnati, in southwestern Ohio. They make their nests in a
variety of locations, including woodlots, yards, and in rare cases, even
on rooftops of buildings. These beautiful raptors, with their
black-and-white wings and tails and their brick-red bellies, were once
considered a “species of special concern” in the state of Ohio due to
their limited distribution within the state. In several other states in
the eastern U.S., they still have similar status. Yet their abilities to
adapt to new situations and to tolerate human disturbance, in
combination with the amount of green space retained within the
Cincinnati-region, have allowed them to thrive in our suburban habitats.
Our team of ornithologists and volunteers has spent the last 15 years
researching aspects of the Red-shouldered Hawks’ ecology that have
enabled them to persist and succeed here. We have studied their nests,
reproductive rates, home range, diet, survival, and abundance in some
detail. In doing so, we have gained more appreciation for this
remarkable species. We have created this website to share some of the
interesting information we have learned. We hope you enjoy it.

The Red-shouldered Hawk Research Team

YouTube channel - Cincinnati Red-shouldered
HawksACKNOWLEDGMENTS: We thank the many landowners
in southwestern Ohio and Hocking Hills who allowed access to private
property. This research was supported in part by RAPTOR,Inc., Martin and
Julie Wiltz, Brad and Marsha Lindner, Irwin
Simon,Marilyn Arn, and the Ohio Biological Survey. Photo by Ronnie Gaubert